Last week we made it known that we do, indeed, believe college is important. Here are just a couple reasons why you should go – or stay here.

You will make more money. Yes, some argue that you can invest the money spent on college in a high-yield investment portfolio instead (though who has $40,000 lying around?), but almost every study out there has shown that those with college degrees make more money. But college is most definitely not all about making money.

Your mind will be blown. At some point, while taking some obscure class to fulfill a bacc core requirement, if you pay attention, your mind will inevitably be blown. Whether it is a class on the idea of God, or on women studies, your previously held beliefs will be questioned and most likely destroyed, allowing you to become a more intelligent and thoughtful human being.

You are forced into uncomfortable situations. While it may sound like a bad thing, it is probably one of the most important. You will have to deal with annoying roommates, difficult professors and slacker group members, all of which will help you immeasurably once you graduate and you have to deal with annoying roommates, difficult bosses, and slacker coworkers.

Or, better yet, you can go to college to avoid all of those things and become a writer, artist, entrepreneur or pursue any other equally independent career.

Become a more confident and intelligent person. Being forced to speak in front of a classroom full of people will help you gain much more confidence than using “teamspeak” in World of Warcraft.

Develop discipline and a work ethic. College comes with a lot of responsibilities and exercises in time management. Work hard, and your future will be much more manageable.

Make lifelong friends and lasting connections. There is no other time in life when it is so easy to meet people who share similar interests. Join a club (we recommend dodgeball), fraternity/sorority or student-run organization, and the amount of Facebook friends you have will rise like leavened bread.

Give your parents a break and gain some independence. You aren’t always that awesome to be around – especially when you are a teenager – so give your parents a break while simultaneously gaining independence – yes, you can eat whatever you want.

You learn that eating whatever you want is a horrible idea.

Figure out what you want to do with your life – or what you don’t want to do. Sign up for random classes, go on volunteer trips and change your major at least three times; all are important in discovering what you love, what you hate and what you want to do with the limited amount of time we have on this pretty little planet called Earth.